Has anyone experienced their children having difficulty coming down from meds? My son started taking Focalin XR about 2 weeks ago (5mg). There has been some change in his ability to focus (not in hyperactivity though).
He takes his meds at 800am and around 630p he usually freaks out about something and has one of his anger episodes. Has anyone else noticed this with as their child is coming off the medicine at night????? Please let me know.....I wonder if this is normal or if there may be some bipolar involved?
Since the episodes are when the meds are leaving the body it may be rebound or your child having difficulty with the transition back to the non-medicated state. If it were mania (bipolar) triggered by meds, I think it would be while meds are in his system. Some people quit having this problem as they get used to the meds, some do not get used to the meds, everyone is different. Discuss with the doctor what is happening and when so that the doctor can address the issue. It may be that your son needs a short acting med to help ease the period that the meds are leaving the body. If the med is not giving good results (you mentioned the hyperactivity is still there), you might discuss a different med. It can take some work to taylor the meds to an individual's needs.Thank you Vickie! My son is 6 and unable to swallow pills (med choices are limited with that) but, I will mention this all to his doctor. I don't yet understand what rebound is but I did post the question.
Thanks again
mom30, try teaching your ds to swallow pills using small bits of candies or sprinkles that go on top of cakes. My son could not take capsules and we had to practice before he could do this. If you do a search for swallowing pills you will get lots of helpful tips. I reason I suggest teaching this is because it took us almost a year and a half of trying different meds until we got one with almost no rebound and minimal side-effects.Our son started Focalin XR around Oct 14th - his rebound seems to be almost gone, so hopefully your son's body will adjust to the meds and you won't see such a severe downturn at night.
When I realized that this is what whas happening, I talked to my son about it, and when I would see him starting to become agitated, I asked him if he was starting to feel funny, and what he thought I could do to help him. It seemed like he didn't know why he felt different and it scared him and that that was part of his reaction. Once he knew what was happening, he started doing much better.
Another thing...we increased my son from 5 mg to 7.5 mg...he instantly had two of his "best ever" days at school, then it kind of lessened into ok days. We upped him to 10 mg on Tues - now Tues and today again were near perfect days for him...hoping that this is the right dose and that his response stays as positive as the last two days.
We also found that for the first week or so he almost seemed more hyper - his teacher said he was focused and attentive, but that his body would not stop moving. We think that it was his body adjusting to the stimulant because that seems to have gone away.
Good luck!!